The Savvy Newcomer aims to serve newcomers to the translation and interpreting professions by publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed content on a weekly basis. We strive to provide you with the answers to the many questions you face as a new or aspiring translator or interpreter.
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform industries, many translators and interpreters are asking themselves: Is there still a place for me? The answer is a resounding yes, but it comes with an important caveat. The future of translation and interpretation belongs to those who can do what machines cannot, that is, bring cultural competence, empathy, and context to language. At least, thus far. Cultural competence has always been at the heart of effective communication. It enables professionals to interpret meaning beyond words, including humor, idioms, tone, and intention within specific cultural frameworks. While AI can process vast amounts of…
Pursuing the Translation Dream: How to Keep the Phone Ringing
Have you been following our five-part series on how to assess your readiness to become a successful translator, inspired by听ATA鈥檚 Self-Evaluation Questionnaire for Translators? If so, we hope your phone is ringing by now! Today we will discuss tips for how to keep the calls coming, based on section 3 of the aforementioned ATA checklist, titled 鈥淧rofessional Relationships (How to…
So You Want to be a Freelance Translator or Interpreter: Money Matters
In the first post in this series, I alluded to a question I鈥檝e been asked several times since I began freelancing鈥攕ometimes more subtly than others: 鈥淒o people actually pay you to do that?鈥 Some days it feels surreal that, yes, people really do pay me for this and I get to read in Spanish, write in English, and sometimes even…
ATA鈥檚 Certification Exam Preparation Workshop in Boston
Reblogged from The ATA Chronicle, with permission ATA鈥檚 Certification Exam Preparation Workshop presented opportunities for participants to learn how the Certification Program works, including the general characteristics of exam passages and how exams are evaluated and graded. ATA held a Certification Exam Preparation Workshop on January 20 at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Training has always been an important part…
What Exactly Is a Technical Freelance Translator?
by Jost Zetzsche I was asked some time back to write a book chapter about freelance translators and translation technology. Not surprisingly, I started by defining a “freelance translator” in this context. Here’s what I came up with: “According to Wikipedia, a ‘freelancer’ is ‘a person who is self-employed and is not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. (…)…
After 35 years as a translator, these two things I know: we translators love words, and we love a good meal. The more exotic the meal (or the words), the better. Need a good Burmese take-out in Oklahoma City? Ask a translator! A colleague and I recently had a discussion on the taxonomy of the world鈥檚 dumplings, from Russian pel鈥檓eni…
I had heard many people say Errors and Omissions (E&O) policies were not necessary for translators. I went along with that鈥 until a direct client required it. In the medical field, it is common for direct clients to require a one million dollar E and policy limit. When I signed the policy, my insurance agent walked me through the do鈥檚…
Reblogged from the听Gostalks blog, with permission This is to give you some pointers as to what and how to check for, hence a sort of QA/QC checklist, for legal translation: Unless you have perfect memory and consistency, write down a glossary, either a general one or a specific one for every larger project, to make sure that you translate the…
My Personal Style Guide for the ATA Translation Exam into Spanish
Reblogged from Gaucha Translations blog, with permission by the author Based on the comments from a failed exam. I am writing this to help others not fail the same way! Include necessary clarifying information to reduce ambiguity. (register former inmates/registrar para votar a los que hab铆an sido鈥) (spread the word to thousands鈥 /informarles la decisi贸n a decenas de miles鈥) Keep…
Book review: The Subversive Copyeditor
I first became aware of the work Carol Fisher Saller does when she spoke at the American Copy Editors Society conference in Portland, Oregon, and presented on her book, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago. I finally read her book in January of 2018. I should have done so sooner. There are so many things we can learn from…
Inbox Zero: Forever in pursuit of 鈥淣o new mail!鈥
There is nothing more satisfying than seeing those three little words: 鈥淣o new mail!鈥 My Gmail app announces, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e all done!鈥, and I especially love the accompanying image because, yes, I do want to be sitting in the sun reading a book right now. The elusive Inbox Zero is indeed attainable, but I have a little help. I use Unroll.Me,…